Market research firm IDC on Thursday released its worldwide smartphone market numbers for the second quarter of 2011 and Apple is in the lead.

[ad#Google Adsense 300×250 in story]”The smartphone market crowned a new leader in 2Q11, and its name is Apple,” said Ramon Llamas, senior research analyst with IDC’s Mobile Phone Technology and Trends team. “Ever since the first iPhone launched in 2007, Apple has made market-setting strides in hardware, software, and channel development to grab mindshare and market share. Demand has been so strong that even models that have been out for one or two years are still being sought out. With an expected refresh later this year, volumes are set to reach higher levels.”

According to the research, vendors shipped 106.5 million units in the second quarter of 2011, up from 64.4 million units in the same quarter of 2010. That’s a 65.4% year-over-year growth.

The top vendors are Apple, Samsung, Nokia, RIM and HTC.

“Apple’s success can be directly attributed to its distribution (more than 200 carriers in more than 200 countries), increased manufacturing capacity, and solid demand within emerging and developed markets from both consumers and business users,” according to the report. “Apple’s emergence as the number one smartphone vendor worldwide comes at a time when former worldwide leader Nokia is in the midst of a major transition. However, Apple has yet to top Nokia’s single-quarter volume record of 28.1 million units. But given Apple’s momentum in the smartphone market, it may not be a question of whether Apple will beat that milestone, but when.”